Local auto shop catches fire, several vehicles destroyed

ATHENS, Tenn. — A number of cars located at Friendly City Auto Care were destroyed or damaged in the fire.

ATHENS, Tenn. — Friendly City Auto Care located in Athens on West Madison Avenue caught on fire around 6 a.m. on Dec. 11, according to WATE 6 On Your Side.

Several cars located inside the facility were destroyed or damaged in the fire, stated the article, including the vehicle of Stacy Crisp.

“Well, we were supposed to pick it up today, and it looks like we’re going to have to find another one because it’s finished as of today,” said Crisp in the article.

Firefighters battled the flames and worked for hours to put out any hot spots at the site, added the article.

“We’ve had lifts collapse [and] cars on lifts that collapsed, so everything inside is a total loss,” stated Athens Fire Chief Jim Dyer in the article.

Dyer continued in the article, “I had crews on the ladder truck trying to pull ceilings and roofing off the top. So it was a man-power intensive fire.”

Firefighters had to use foam and water to help extinguish the fire, reported the article, which proved to be a challenge because of oil and gas on-site.

“We’ve had [hazardous materials] that we’ve worked while we’re here,” explained Dyer in the article. “We’ve had to boom and dyke the waterways because we’ve got so much oil and product rolling down the road.”

West Madison Avenue was blocked off due to the fire, continued the article, and Convalescent Supplies located next to the auto shop has smoke damage.

“We’re probably going to be shut down for probably four or five days just to see what kind of damage we have. We can operate out of one of our other stores to take care of our patients and customers,” said Earl Cameron, owner of Convalescent Supplies, in the article.

Friendly City Auto Care’s owner stated that the business was built in 1988 and had plans to expand the auto shop, informed the article.

The owner said in the article that the auto shop will “take things one day at a time and eventually relocate.”

Dyer reported that a team of investigators and the state fire marshal are working to discover the cause of the fire, which could take days to complete, noted the article.